Conference Book of Abstracts - Taita Taveta University College

Bioprospecting for microorganisms symbiotic with halophytes to provide genes for salttolerance from saline environments.Lelmen Kipkorir ElijahDepartment of Biochemistry and Biotechnology , The Kenya Polytechnic University College (A Constituent Collegeof the University of Nairobi) P.O. Box 52428 -00200 Nairobi KenyaE-mail: elijahlek@gmail.com or lelmenekl@yahoo.comArid and semi arid areas experience the excessive accumulation of salts which is a majorecological problem. This is worsened by the use of soil and irrigation water with a high contentof soluble salts for agricultural purposes. This acts as a major limiting factor for cropproductivity in these areas of the world.Excessive soil salinity affects the establishment, development, and growth of plants, resulting inimportant losses in productivity. Plants have evolved biochemical and molecular mechanismsthat may act in a concerted manner and constitute the integrated physiological response to soilsalinity. These include the synthesis and accumulation of compatible solutes to avoid celldehydration and maintain root water uptake, the regulation of ion homeostasis to control ionuptake by roots, compartmentation and transport into shoots, the fine regulation of water uptakeand distribution to plant tissues by the action of aquaporins, the reduction of oxidative damagethrough improved antioxidant capacity and the maintenance of photosynthesis at values adequatefor plant growth.Certain microorganisms can improve plant root growth, salinity tolerance, drought tolerance andstress in general. Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis can help the host plants to cope withthe detrimental effects of high soil salinity. There is evidence that AM symbiosis affects andregulates several of the above mentioned mechanisms. Plants suffer much faster than bacteriaand fungi as salinity increases. Maintaining high soil biological activity is desirable as microbeshelp to maintain soil structure and includes many processes that help with plant nutrition.Genetic and the functional diversity of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) is an importantecological issue that deserves greater research efforts specially when trying to use them intobiotechnological approaches in agriculture, horticulture, forestry and ecological restoration.It is in view of this that bioprospecting and developing new strain of AM is important especiallyfrom those that colonise halophytes in the natural existing saline environments. It is envisagedthat consortia of these microorganisms associating with these halophytes are responsible for theirextreme tolerance. Current approaches deal with use of AM strains as bioinuculants to helpalleviate environmental stresses but this should extend to the search for the genes responsible forsalinity tolerance from the AM fungi themselves to be used biotechnologically to improve cropplants to enable the be cultivated in salt affected soils.Kenya’s unique plant diversity: investing in modern botanical gardensRobert Wahiti GituruDirectorate of Sino- African Biodiversity Resource Conservation (SABREC)Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and TechnologyP. O. Box 62000-00200 Nairobi, Kenya